"Welcome to Bayville High." Said an over cheerful man I took to be their principal. "Here's your schedule." He said, and handed me a piece of paper. I took the paper and stared blankly at it. I could tell where things were by my voice, but I couldn't read or watch t.v. or anything like that. You know, it sorda required seeing. "They didn't tell you?" I asked. He looked confused. "Tell me what?" he asked. I waved my hand in front of my eyes. "I'm blind!" I said. He looked at me. "What?" he exclaimed. "Yeah." I said, used to this reaction. "Oh. Well, I'll call down one of our most trusted students to show you round school." He said. He walked over to a phone and dialed a number. He muttered something in the phone, and then hung up. "Well, um…" he said, looking very uncomfortable. "It's ok, you don't have to talk." I said. He gave me a small smile. Suddenly, a girl walked in. "Hi, I'm Jean Grey." She said. I stood and walked up to her, following the vibrations her heart beat gave out. I stuck my hand out. "I'm Laila Stone." I said. She shook it. "Nice to meet you Laila." She turned to the principal. "What do you need me for?" she asked. "I need you to escort Laila to her classes." He said. She turned towards me. "Ummm, ok." She said. She took my schedule. "So what's your first class?" she asked. "I honestly have no idea." I said. "Have you looked at this paper?" she asked. "Hmm, yes. I've tried to look at it, but see, that would require sight, and sadly, that is a sense I don't have, due to some birth defect." I said sarcastically. She looked at me. "You're…blind?" she asked. "No, I'm just without sight. Of course I'm blind!" I said. "But…you came over to me, you're not feeling anything, and-" "I can sense the vibrations you send out." I said. She stared at me. "Ok then." She said. "Just um, grab my hand." "No need. I can follow you." I said. I could feel that she was doubtful. "I'm not a helpless little girl you know. I'm just as strong as you are." I said hotly. "Ok, ok." She said, holding up her hands. "Come on. You have the same first period as Kitty. She'll show you your second period. It looks like one of my friends will be in each of your classes. Your first class in on the other side of the building." She said. I followed her through the hallways, but all of them felt the same. I sighed. "What is it?" she asked. "I'll never be able to tell which hallway is which!" I said. I felt her smile. "What?" I asked. "I know how you feel." She said. "No, you don't. You don't know what it's like to be treated as an outsider, to be considered an infant in everything you do. You don't know what it feels like to be trapped in a dark, dark, world, all alone. You don't know what it's like being surrounded by people, and yet being completely by yourself. My whole life, people have looked upon me as defective. No one understands. And being blind doesn't help at all. I don't even know the color of my hair, my eyes, heck; I don't even know what colors are! Nobody wants a defective child. That's why they sent me here. This is the third foster home I've been to in the last six months." I felt her staring at me. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I just met you and I only know your name." I said. "Laila, it's ok. If you want to talk more about it, just call this number. And, I know you can't see, but you can ask what the numbers are. Well, here's your class." She said, stopping in front of a door. She handed me a piece of paper. I tucked it into my backpack. "I'll introduce you to Kitty, and she can take it from there." Jean Grey said. She opened the door and walked inside. I was suddenly overcome by a wave of nervousness. She looked at me. Her mood changed. "It's ok, they won't bite." She said. She took my hand and led me inside. The class had been sorda loud when we had walked in, but when everyone noticed we were there, it went deathly quiet. "Excuse me, but who exactly, is this?" the teacher asked. "This is Laila Stone, a new student to Bayville High. She's in your first period." Jean said. "And why are you here Jean?" There was a hint of distaste in her voice. I wonder what it could be about. "I'm showing Laila around." She said. "And why does our friend Laila need to be shown around?" the teacher asked. I liked this teacher better and better. I thought sarcastically. "Because if she didn't show me around, heck, if no body showed me around I'd walk into every freaking wall in the school before coming to the right classroom, if I ever did. If you had taken the time to notice, you would've seen, since you obviously can, that I am blind. That's why she's showing me around." I said, fed up with this teacher and her questions. I could feel everyone staring at me. Suddenly, a girl piped up. "That is like, so cool. Have you been blind since birth?" she asked. I felt Jean's mood shift. "Yeah." I said. "Laila, this is Kitty." she said. I could feel her motioning towards the girl who had spoken. "Hi." I said. "Kitty, could you show Laila to her next class? She has her next class with Kurt." She asked. The girl, Kitty, nodded. Jean lead me over to a desk. "Here you go." She said. I sat down. "Thanks." I said. "Anytime. Now, I've got to go. See ya later!" she said. She walked out. Everyone turned back to the teacher. She started again on whatever she had been teaching and I zoned out. What was the point if I couldn't write? After what seemed like ages, the bell finally rang. I was getting a serious headache by now, and it felt like my head was going to explode. I felt Kitty walk up to me. "You ok?" she asked, concerned. "No. My head hurts so much." I muttered, clutching my head. "I think I should take you to the nurse." She said. She helped me from my chair. I clutched her arm as she led me to the nurse's office. "Nurse Cherry? My friend here has a massive headache." She said. "Alright, lay her down on the cot." A woman said. Kitty led me over to a cot and I sat down on it. "Fell any better?" she asked. "No." I said, clutching my head. "Has this happened before?" she asked, looking at me. I nodded. "They've been happening frequently over the past week or so." I said. "It'll be over in about ten or fifteen minutes." I said. She looked at me for a moment, contemplating. "Well, I'll check on you later on." She said, and walked out. I sighed and lay down. What was with these people being nice to total strangers? I asked myself. I waited for the pain to subside, but it only got worse. Even after an hour, the pain still increased. I felt the nurse walk over. "How are you doing dear?" she asked. "Horrible. The pain is getting worse." I groaned. I felt her get worried. "Hmm. I'm afraid if it gets any worse I'll have to send you home." She said. "Oh please, anywhere but there." I pleaded. I'd be out of this foster real fast if I was sent home on the first day. And for the first time, I was accepted, and people actually liked me. "Alright." She said, and walked back to her desk. I heard the bell ring. Kitty walked in a few moments later along with Jean and a guy with glasses. Kitty walked up to me. "Are you doing any better?" she asked. "No, it's just getting worse. It's the worst one I've had." I said. She looked back at Jean and the guy, as if communicating without words. Jean walked up. "Laila, I'd like you to meet Scott." She said. The glasses guy walked up. "Hey." He said. "Hi." I said. "Do you think we should take you home?" Kitty asked me. "No. I'd be leaving to another foster home if they found out I came home on my first day of school." I said. "Well, how about we get you somewhere quiet?" Jean asked. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Nurse Cherry, can we take Laila back to the Institute?" she asked. The nurse nodded. "What institute? Where are you taking me?" I demanded. "Relax Laila, its ok." Jean said. "Ok. Take me where you will." I said. Scott walked over to me. "Can you walk?" he asked. "Of course I can." I said, and stood up. The pain in my head multiplied. I sat back down. "Ok, maybe not." I said. He picked me up. Jean and Kitty followed as he carried me to a car. He put me inside, and then walked to the driver's seat. Jean got in shot gun and Kitty got in beside me. I concentrated on Jean's heart beat, trying to wish away all the pain. After about five minutes, the car stopped. Scott opened the door and carried me across the ground to a mansion. I could sense more people inside, but I could also sense them under me. Scott opened up the door and walked inside, Jean and Kitty following closely. "Let's take her to the Professor." Jean said. "What Professor?" I asked. "He'll be able to help you." Kitty assured. Scott walked to a door and Jean opened it. Inside was a man in a wheelchair. Scott set me down on a couch. "Who is this?" the man asked. "Professor, this is Laila." Scott said. "Why have you brought her here?" the Professor asked. "Sir, we think that she is... is one of us." He said. Kitty piped up. "She's been having really, really, bad headaches like I did." She said. "Did it occur to you that it might just be something normal?" the Professor asked. "Umm…" they all said together. Suddenly, the pain in my head increased, and I clutched my head, gasping. Everyone's attention turned to me. I could feel the pain spreading to my ears, and down to my back. It felt like any second my head would explode. My back felt as if it were on fire, as did my ears. Then it felt as if an explosion happened in my ears. I could hear nothing, and I was completely alone in my dark, dark world. Slowing, my hearing came back. I could hear children laughing, the electricity humming through the house. I could hear the leaves rustling in the slight breeze, and someone coming down the hallway. The pain in my head was still there, and now it was increasing in my back also. I could feel everyone staring at me. "Are you all right?" Jean asked. "No." I said. My hearing took over again, and I could hear a car crunching on the gravel road towards the house. "Someone's coming." I said. They all looked at me. "Down the road. A car. It's about half a mile from here." I said. The Professor felt puzzled. "But, school doesn't get out for another couple hours." He said. "There are kids in the car. Four. All males." I said. They looked at each other. "The Brotherhood." Jean said. "We don't know that." The Professor said. "Jean, I want you and Scott to go check it out. Kitty, gather some students. We want to be prepared." He said. The three friends left. "Laila, how did you know that?" he asked. "I-I can hear the car coming over the road, and I can hear their heartbeats pulsing." I said. I could feel him staring at me. A man walked into the room. "Ahh, Logan. Please escort Laila to one of the empty bedrooms. I have a feeling she may be staying with us a while." He said. Then he wheeled himself out of the room. The man, Logan, looked at me. "Well come on." He said. I didn't move. "You heard the Professor, I've got to take you to a room." He said. I slowly got up. For the first time in my life, I used the furniture to guide me to him. The pain in my head and back were too great to walk without support. "What's a matter? Can't you walk?" he asked. "No, I can't. My head and back hurt too much, and it doesn't help that I can't see." I said. He mood seemed to change. He held out his arm and I gripped it. We walked down a few hallways and stopped in front of an elevator. The doors opened and he walked inside, me in tow. I could hear the elevator working. It stopped after a ding and the doors opened again. He led me into a room, and then over to a bed. I sat down. "Well, here's your room for now. Someone will be back to check on you later." He said, and walked out. I lay down on my stomach, my head in my hands. The pain in my back was growing worse than the pain in my head. The area was around my shoulder blades. The pain in my head seemed to leak into my back, until my head was fine, but my back hurt a lot. It felt like something was trying to rip through my back. Suddenly I felt like my back did rip open. I couldn't help it; I screamed. Hesitantly, I reached up and around to touch my back. My hand met a hard bone thing protruding from next to my shoulder blades. I reached around to my other side and felt another bone like thing. I let my hand travel up the bone and then stop as it reached some kind of leathery skin. I dropped my hand back down. I knew exactly what I would find if I could see. Wings. Bat wings. I'd gone to a bat exhibit when I was seven. I'd gotten to touch the body of a bat, and its wings. I knew what they felt like, and the things that protruded from my back had that same texture. Logan rushed into the room, along with a few other students who had heard my scream. I could feel them looking at me in wonder. I waited for the screaming, the yelling, and the frightened people running to get help. But it didn't come. "Well, it looks like Jean and Scott were right after all." Logan said. I looked up at him. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I'd better let the Professor explain." He said. The Professor wheeled himself in. "Laila, I believe we need to talk." He said.